Three-Wheelin' Through Time

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Three-Wheelin' Through Time

The auto industry has cranked out many motoring mashups over the years. Some, like the road-going mullet that was the Chevrolet El Camino, have been nothing short of legendary. Others, like the flying cars we’re still waiting for, haven’t quite worked out.
Somewhere in between are three-wheelers, an odd combo of car and motorcycle. From the very first automobile to the latest leading-edge EV, there has been no shortage of visionaries and eccentrics who felt a fourth wheel was superfluous.
British automaker Morgan Motor Co. is the latest to say, “Four wheels? Pfft.” It recently unveiled the 3-Wheeler, a dead ringer for the Threewheeler it built from 1909 until 1952. That got us thinking about three-wheelers through time.
Above:

Morgan Threewheeler

A Morgan Threewheeler is serviced during the Cyclecar Grand Prix in this undated photo.
Photo: Morgan Motor Co.

1885 Benz Patent-Motorwagen

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen built in 1885 is generally considered the first automobile. It featured a single-cylinder 954-cc engine that produced less than 1 horsepower. From such humble beginnings was born the stuff of great emotion and even obsession — the automobile.
Photo: Daimler

1930 Birmingham Small Arms Three-Wheeler

Birmingham Small Arms is most famous for firearms and motorcycles, two things that naturally go together. But the British firm also dabbled in automobiles like the Three-Wheeler, a direct competitor to Morgan from 1930 until 1935. Besides looking quintessentially British, the Three-Wheeler was notable for having a reverse gear and a brake on each wheel.
Image: Birmingham Small Arms

1933 Dymaxion

Buckminster Fuller was a genius, no two ways about it. Among the things the brilliant eccentric brought us are the geodesic dome, the Dymaxion House and, of course, the Dymaxion car.
The teardrop-shaped car was utterly ridiculous yet somehow practical — had it worked. It was 20 feet long and could carry 11 people, yet it got 30 mpg and once hit 90 mph. It was steered by the rear wheel, which made parking a breeze — but handling it iffy.
Fuller’s brilliant automobile never saw production, no doubt due in part to a fatal accident at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, but it influenced the design of the Volkswagen Transporter and Fiat 600 Multipla, among others.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

1948 Piaggio Ape

It's pronounced "ah-peh," and it's Italian for "bee." Fitting, both because of the size and because they're about as common as bees. They first appeared, like so many three-wheelers, following World War II as a cheap means of getting around. The Ape was conceived by Corradino D'Ascanio, the same guy who created the Vespa, and embraced by Enrico Piaggio. The first one rolled off the line in 1948 and Piaggio has been building them ever since.
Photo: danielle esposito / Flickr

1955 Daihatsu Trimobile

The Daihatsu Trimobile was odd, even for a three-wheeler. It was not quite a car, not quite a truck and definitely not an open-wheeled roadster. Power came from an itty-bitty 12-horsepower engine, and it took everything the engine had to hit 40 mph. The Japanese company built the Trimobile and its passenger car sibling, the Bee, by the boatload between 1955 and 1975. Oddly, they never caught on in the United States.
Image: Daihatsu

1953 Messerschmitt KR175

German aviation giant Messerschmitt, barred from building aircraft after World War II, turned to automobiles in 1953. The KR175 was about as rudimentary a car as you could imagine, with no doors and a handlebar for steering. You had to tug a rope to start the 173-cc engine.
Still, it was remarkably successful. Messerschmitt built 15,000 Kabinenrollers — “cabin scooters" — before replacing it with the larger KR200 in 1956.
Photo: dronir/Flickr

Mazda K360

Three-wheelers were popular in Japan. Mazda started building them in 1931 when it introduced the Mazdago, often considered the first auto-rickshaw. While the Mazdago was little more than a motorcycle with a pickup bed, the K360 was little more than a motorcycle with a pickup bed ... and a roof. It was among the cutest of the Japanese three-wheelers. Zoom-zoom indeed.
Photo: Yasuhiko Ito/FlickrPhoto: Mazda

1965 Peel Trident

The Isle of Man is not known as a hotbed of automotive design, and the Peel Trident may explain why. It was conceived as “shopping car” so fuel-efficient it was “cheaper than walking.” Given the appearance, not to mention the size (4 feet, 2 inches long and 198 pounds), we’d prefer walking to broiling beneath that Plexiglas dome. Peel Engineering sold just 45. We’re surprised it did so well.
Photo: casaflamingo/Flickr

1973 Reliant Robin

The Reliant Robin is the Yugo of its day, a cheap car of questionable quality affectionately known by Britons as the "Plastic Pig” for its fiberglass body and, um, unusual appearance. The Robin was hatched in 1973 and was built in fits and starts for almost 30 years. It’s never gotten any respect because the only thing worse than the styling is the driving.
Still, the Robin is something of a pop cultural icon in Britain, where it is a convenient punching bag for comedians. It’s also made appearances on television programs like Top Gear and is a popular entry in demolition derbies, further proving there’s nothing the British won’t race.
Photo: Skip the Budgie/Flickr

Tuk Tuk

Go to any major city in Asia and you'll the venerable auto rickshaw, or tuk-tuk, everywhere. They're small, they're cheap and they're tough as nails, which makes them a popular means of getting around. Many of them are little more than elaborate scooters, although there are about as many regional variations as there are people using them.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons. Tuk tuk taxis lined up in Bangkok.

2009 Campagna T-Rex

Yeah, we know. The styling. But who cares? The T-Rex 1400R has a 1.3-liter Kawasaki engine good for 197 horsepower, it weighs 900 pounds, and it goes like stink. It also attracts looks not seen since Charlie Sheen’s last interview.
Photo: ranpie/Flickr

Aptera 2e

It remains to be seen whether we’ll ever see the all-electric Aptera Motors 2e, and this Southern California startup’s window of opportunity is closing quickly. But the Aptera 2e is an impressive bit of aerodynamic engineering, and everything about it was designed to maximize range.
That weird body is more slippery than a politician caught in a lie, and three wheels offer less energy-sapping rolling resistance than four. Still, you’ve got to wonder how many people will buy an electric car shaped like a sperm.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

2012 Morgan 3-Wheeler

We love Morgan Motor Co. because it is so steadfastly old-school. Several automakers have gone retro with varying degrees of success, but none top the 3-Wheeler. Morgan’s newest car is essentially the same as its first car.
The Threewheeler was one hell of a ride when it first appeared in 1909, and over the years it won grand prix races and hill climbs — and set speed records that still stand. The updated Morgan 3-Wheeler offers the same fit and feel of that early-20th-century racer with a modern S&S V-twin and Mazda five-speed gearbox.
As crazy as it sounds, Morgan plans to actually sell these, for $40,000 a pop. A bargain when you consider its other models easily top $100,000. And when you think about it, 40 grand is a small price to pay to have the coolest retro ride on the planet.
Above: Letting it all hang out in a Morgan Threewheeler during the Prescott Hill Climb in this undated photo.
Photos: Morgan Motor Co.
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